We were unwilling to annoy you and our other allies and friends with these wars: It will be helpful to begin this verse with “However” or “But” by saying “However, during these times when we were fighting our enemies, there was no reason for us to bother you or our other friends and allies….”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.